Apple introduced iPod games about a year ago, and fortunately, the collection wasn’t left to flounder. Apple has added a few new titles, which is proof of Apple’s commitment to iPod games - a big deal to longtime Mac folks who are familiar with Apple’s less-than-stellar gaming history. All of these games are $4.99 (except the 99-cent iQuiz) through the iTunes Store, and you need a fifth-gen video iPod or a new iPod classic to play them. (Sudoku also works with the new third-gen iPod nano.)

Nothin' like a bit of fraggin' to help two men bond. The derivative future-world of Battlefield 2142 feels like a mixture of the same old vehicles, weapons, and combat found in other high-tech first-person shooters (FPS). But even through the game rarely innovates, its common parts feel comfortable and fun. FPS enthusiasts need to overlook numerous bugs and glitches, but once we started firing guns inside the bleak world, the great game balance made us forget to care about originality.

Fanciful graphics include undersea settings, alien worlds, and metropolitan cityscapes. It’s no coincidence that Phase was created by Harmonix, also the designer of mega-hit, Guitar Hero III. Similar to that game, Phase asks players to tap buttons in time to visual cues and songs’ rhythms. But instead of being locked into a preset list of tunes, Phase works with nearly any iPod song. This simple music game is catchier than the hook on a top-40 hit.

No more frosted faces or smiles stuck on “how nice.” No more regifting, exchanging, or Goodwill-ing stuff that missed the mark. This holiday season, all that you want will soon be here: the gewgaws, the tchotchkes, the doodads, and the thing-a-ma-bobs. The bags, the boomboxes, camcorders, and flaming logs. The mice, the cans, and the bling. Oh, you know - just about everything. Forthwith: Mac|Life’s greatest guide for gifts. Ever.